Viscous coupling apparatus for on-demand four wheel drive system
A viscous fluid rear axle coupling apparatus is described for a front engine drive vehicle having front and rear pairs of road wheels. The vehicle has a front transaxle including differential means drivingly interconnected to the front pair of wheels; and a longitudinally extending propeller shaft having its forward end drivingly connected to the transaxle differential means. The propeller shaft has right-angle power transfer means adjacent to its aft end adapted to receive engine torque from the front differential, the right angle power transfer means comprising in part a crown gear fixedly secured to a viscous coupling apparatus. The improvement described here is wherein the apparatus comprises a viscous coupling casing having a pair of right and left outboard end cover plates closing the ends of a cylindrical outer drum defining a sealed viscous fluid chamber, one of the cover plates removably fastened to the crown gear. The power transfer means is adapted to convert the rotation of the propeller shaft into rotation of the outer drum about a transverse axis coincident with rear axle means, the outer drum concentrically surrounding a pair of coaxial right and left inner drums. The right and left inner drums are fixedly connected to respective coaxial right and left transverse output shafts such that the inner drums rotate relative to each other and to the outer drum.
- Assignee:
- Chrysler Motors Corp., Highland Park, MI
- Patent Number(s):
- US 4650028
- OSTI ID:
- 6879307
- Resource Relation:
- Patent File Date: Filed date 3 Feb 1986
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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